Webb Finds Icy Complex Organic Molecules Around Protostars: Ethanol, Methane, Formaldehyde, Formic Acid and Much More. In the quest to understand how and where life might arise in the galaxy, astronomers search for its building blocks
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected complex organic molecules in the gas and ice clouds around newborn stars. These molecules are called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). On Earth, PAHs are commonly found in car exhaust and wildfire smoke. In space, they may play a crucial role in star formation
The JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument has made robust detections of complex organic molecules encased in cosmic ice. The complex molecules include ethanol, methane, formaldehyde, and formic acid.
The JWST is set to transform astronomers’ understanding of the chemistry of newly formed stars
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline. They result from burning coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, and tobacco. PAHs can bind to or form small particles in the air. High heat when cooking meat and other foods will form PAHs
While the molecules in question are complex and organic, they’re nowhere near as large as terrestrial COMs. For that reason, scientists sometimes call them iCOMs, where i stands for interstellar. iCOMS include simple alcohols, esters, nitriles, and ethers. To be a COM, a molecule must have at least six atoms, one of which must be carbon
Astronomers have found some iCOMS before using radiotelescopes like ALMA and the VLA to see through the surrounding dust
The Cosmostatistics Initiative (COIN) is a worldwide effort to create an interdisciplinary community around data-driven problems in astronomy.
Radio telescopes can see through dust that obscures visible-light observations. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Very Large Array (VLA) are radio telescopes that can see through the surrounding dust.
ALMA can examine the dense dusty material around protostars in great detail. ALMA can also capture high-resolution images of gas and dust from which stars and planets are formed.
The VLA can show where star formation is occurring. The images from the VLA made at longer wavelengths are essential to understand the inner structures of the youngest protostars
The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is a camera and spectrograph on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It observes mid to long infrared radiation from 5 to 28 microns. MIRI also has coronagraphs, especially for observing exoplanets
The James Webb Space Telescope detects near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths, the light beyond the red end of the visible spectrum
Complex molecules in space are thought to form on the surface of interstellar ice grains at very low temperatures. These ice grains are abundant throughout the universe
Chemical elements join together to form molecules in space. As molecules become hotter, they eject their dust and become gaseous molecules.
Research has shown that when simple molecules are bathed in high-energy radiation, it spurs a chemical reaction that results in the more complex organic molecules.
In the last few years, astronomers have discovered a bunch of complex organic molecules in rapid succession inside the dense Taurus Molecular Cloud-1 (TMC-1).
New research shows how a simple molecule called ortho-benzyne helps form more complex organic molecules deep inside a frigid gas cloud. The team says it plays a small but critical role in creating chemically rich building blocks that will eons later form young stars and planets.
The JWST also detected the oldest known examples of complex organic molecules in the universe. These chemicals are found in an early galaxy that formed when the universe was about 10% of its current age.
The JWST also detected the following:
- Ices The JWST discovered the deepest, coldest ices ever observed in a molecular cloud. The ices include frozen versions of carbonyl sulfide, ammonia, and methane.
- Methyl cation The JWST detected methyl cation (CH3+) for the first time. This molecule is important because it helps form more complex carbon-based molecules.
The telescope has found absorption features indicating the existence of water, methanol, ammonia, and methane ices. There also appear to be species of ethanol and acetaldehyde, in addition to carbon monoxide and water vapor. These are all complex organic molecules that can combine to form the building blocks of life.
Yes, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detected the coldest ice in the known universe, and it contains the building blocks of life. The ice is made of ingredients like carbonyl sulfide, ammonia, and methane, and is just 10 degrees Celsius above absolute zero
The ice also contains vital molecules like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. These molecules can be sealed in comets and delivered to the surfaces of planets, ultimately becoming the building blocks of life.
The JWST’s latest observations of icy molecules will help scientists understand how habitable planets form
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